The present disclosure relates to ultrasound devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) drive circuitry having built-in time gain compensation (TGC) functionality for ultrasound applications.
Ultrasound devices may be used to perform diagnostic imaging and/or treatment. Ultrasound imaging may be used to see internal soft tissue body structures, and to find a source of disease or to exclude any pathology. Ultrasound devices use sound waves with frequencies that are higher with respect to those audible to humans. Ultrasonic images are created by transmitting pulses of ultrasound into tissue using a probe. The sound waves are reflected off the tissue, with different tissues reflecting varying degrees of sound. These reflected sound waves may be converted to electrical signals, amplified, digitized, recorded and displayed as an image to the operator. The strength (amplitude) of the sound signal and the time it takes for the wave to travel through the body provide information used to produce an image.
Many different types of images can be formed using ultrasound devices. The images can be real-time images. For example, images can be generated that show two-dimensional cross-sections of tissue, blood flow, motion of tissue over time, the location of blood, the presence of specific molecules, the stiffness of tissue, or the anatomy of a three-dimensional region.